Statement from Trust for Public Land Commending the Biden Administration for Designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument

Washington, D.C. – A statement from Dr. Jocelyn Imani, Trust for Public Land’s Black History and Culture Director, on President Biden designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley sites as a National Monument providing permanent protections via the Antiquities Act:

“Trust for Public Land commends President Biden for designating the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. This national monument preserves a painful but powerful chapter in our history in which – in the wake of a horrific racist murder of an innocent child, where the fundamental values of human life and justice were violated – Mamie Till-Mobley transformed her deep pain into action that would galvanize the civil rights movement.  The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument will be a place where the stories of Emmett Till and his courageous mother, Mamie Till-Mobley are preserved as part of our National Park System to inform our understanding of our shared history and compel us to work together for continued atonement, restoration, and progress.”

The Trust for Public Land has contributed to the protection of more than 6,800 acres of national monuments, visited by millions of people annually, as they connect to nature, experience cultural treasures, and enjoy the outdoors. These monuments have included projects at Bandelier, California Coastal, Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers Boyhood Home, Fort Sumter, Pipestone, Rio Grande del Norte, and Stonewall, demonstrating the depth and breadth of places the Antiquities Act protects and the American stories our national monuments tell.

Passed by Congress and signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act permanently protects land that is determined to be of significant cultural, scientific, or natural value. Without it, places like the Medgar Evers National Monument, the Grand Canyon or Zion National Park would never enjoy the level of protection that today enables visitors to experience their majesty and historical importance.

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About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.